Using Poetry Quotes: IQC

What you need to know…

When writing your analysis of a particular poem it is important that you can use examples from the poem to support and demonstrate what you are saying.

IQC stands for:

Introduce –> Quote –> Comment.

• Introduce: give the quote some background (context)

• Quote: include the quote (using correct punctuation!)

• Comment: on what the evidence demonstrates

It is important that you first introduce the quote, then you include the quote and finally you comment.

1. Step One: Select your quote carefully
2. Step Two: Introduce your quote (I)
3. Step Three: Incorporate your quote in a sentence correctly (Q)
4. Step Four: Make a comment on your evidence (C)

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Poor Example:

“I wandered lonely as a cloud.” In this line the persona is describing himself as a cloud because there was only one cloud in the sky and it creates an image of him being alone and surrounded by emptiness. 

Good Example:

“The persona describes himself as “…wandering lonely as a cloud…” (1) when there is only one in the sky to create an image of him being alone and surrounded by emptiness. 

You can see many examples in this example poetry commentary.

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Remember that a quote should:

• Be grammatically correct

• Never begin or end a paragraph

• Be part of a sentence

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How to include a quote in the sentence…

The punctuation and structure will vary depending on how long your quoted lines of poetry are.

 

Three lines or less: 

• Use quotation marks around the quote.
• Include the line number/s at the end in brackets (2)
• Use a / mark to mark where one line ends a new line begins

Four lines or more: 

• Use a colon at the end of the introductory sentence (:)
• Indent the lines
• Add your analysis after the quote
  • See an example here…

What do the three dots … mean? This is called an ellipsis and it means that you have left out words from before or after the quote has begun.

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What you need to do…

Explaining Figurative Language:

Choose one example of figurative language from “Introduction to Poetry” and explain its relationship with meaning. Refer to the post on how to what good poetry analysis looks like if you need help.

You must be using property citation (i.e. IQC) techniques in your writing.

 

Fast Finisher:

You have now successfully explained at least one relationship between figurative language and meaning in “Introduction to Poetry”. You are now to do the same but with at least one sound device. Remember sound devices refer to any poetic technique that involves sound (e.g. rhyme, rhyme scheme, rhythm, meter, assonance, alliteration, sibilance, onomatopoeia).